Iranian state-backed actors are attempting to interfere in the 2024 presidential election at an unprecedented scale, and congressional Republicans say the regime’s attacks are disproportionately targeting the campaign of former President Donald Trump.
The federal government says Iran’s interference attempts have targeted both the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns, however.
Agents of Tehran successfully infiltrated the Trump campaign in May to leak private documents to the press and the then-Biden campaign, although the Trump campaign only made the attack known in August.
“Iran perceives this year’s elections to be particularly consequential in terms of the impact they could have on its national security interests,” the August statement reads.
The agencies also said Iran contacted the campaigns of both Biden and Trump but only infiltrated the Trump campaign when it succeeded in a phishing attack against political consultant Roger Stone, through which the malign actors gained access to Stone’s personal email.
It remains unclear whether similar phishing attacks were initiated against the Biden or Harris campaigns, but officials did acknowledge that the campaigns received emailed copies of the Trump campaign’s private information from the Iranian agents but did not reply.
Republicans Say Iran Is Targeting Trump, Not Harris
In another statement released in September, the agencies stated that Iran and other authoritarian powers “see election periods as moments of vulnerability” and seek to exploit the transition period to their own advantage.The three operatives have also been criminally charged with hacking Trump’s campaign as part of a broader effort to undermine the former president and erode confidence in the U.S. electoral system.
The hacking campaign has been in operation since 2020 and has sought to compromise the email accounts of a broad swath of targets, including presidential campaigns, former ambassadors, defense and intelligence leaders, and journalists.
“We know that Iran is continuing with its brazen efforts to stoke discord, erode confidence in the U.S. electoral process, and advance its malign activities,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a press conference announcing the charges on Sept. 27.
Government agencies have largely framed the attacks as nonpartisan in nature, suggesting that their purpose is a general attempt to sow discord.
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told The Epoch Times On Oct. 31 that Iran is engaged in a “clear attempt to sway the outcome” of the election in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The regime is actively trying to influence our election and support Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, as shown by their hacking of the Trump campaign and their attempts to distribute social media noise in opposition to President Trump,” Lankford said in an email.
“The Iranian regime’s election interference is part of their ongoing efforts to undermine the United States. They hate our freedom, and they fear our strength.”
The committee’s Democratic leadership did not return a request for comment.
The same sentiment has bubbled through the Republican majority on the House Intelligence Committee, whose leadership now believes that Iran is pulling out all the stops to prevent a second Trump term.
A member of Committee Chair Mike Turner’s (R-Ohio) staff directed The Epoch Times to public statements he made on social media platform X, suggesting that “the Biden–Harris Administration is failing to respond to Iran.”
Likewise, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who also serves on the committee, said Iran would prefer Harris to win the election and that it is attempting to “undermine” Trump’s election chances out of a fear his foreign policy could further weaken the Islamist regime in Tehran.
“Our adversaries are well aware that President Trump will bring back the peace through strength policies that deterred Iranian aggression and emptied their coffers,” Stefanik told The Epoch Times.
Malign Foreign Influence Expands in 2024 Race
Malign foreign influence has quickly become a key issue in the 2024 presidential race, with state-backed actors from Iran, China, North Korea, and Russia all throwing weight into the fray.Some cyber groups, including those backed by Russia and North Korea, seem to work primarily against the Harris administration, while those backed by China appear to promote discord more broadly, and those from Iran appear primarily interested in thwarting a second Trump administration.
Iranian election interference straddled that mold, however, and at times appeared focused on causing mayhem in the United States more broadly.
Such was certainly the case with Iran’s covert support of American protests over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Using social media platforms popular in the United States, groups linked to Tehran have posed as online activists, encouraged protests, and even provided financial support to protest groups.
In a prepared statement released last month, National Intelligence Director Avril Haines acknowledged that Iran was actively supporting destabilizing activities within the United States and that many Americans may not even know they had interacted with an agent of the regime.
“Iran is becoming increasingly aggressive in their foreign influence efforts, seeking to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions,” Haines said.
“Americans who are being targeted by this Iranian campaign may not be aware that they are interacting with or receiving support from a foreign government.”
